The Celtics face a $263 million tax bill next season
The Boston Celtics are staring down a financial nightmare heading into next year. Their salary commitments have ballooned to $231 million with an additional $263 million in tax penalties coming their way, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The math is brutal. For every $3 million they spend on a player, it’ll cost them an extra $25 million in tax penalties.
They’re currently about $22 million over the second apron threshold.
This isn’t just a one-year problem either. Boston is projected to exceed the second tax apron again in 2025-26 by nearly $20 million, according to Spotrac.
Going over that line comes with serious consequences. The team would face restrictions on signing players, making trades, and even moving future first-round picks.
But the defending champs don’t seem to be panicking.
NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reports that “The Celtics are not operating to date like a team desperate to shed salary.”
Instead, Boston appears to be taking a more calculated approach. They’ve given some rival teams the impression that they might execute a series of moves starting in the offseason and continuing through the trade deadline.
One potential solution? Trading Kristaps Porzingis.
Moving Porzingis and his massive $30.73 million salary would help the Celtics dip below the second apron. The challenge is finding a trade partner. Currently, only the Brooklyn Nets could absorb his entire contract without sending players back.
Another option would be trading Porzingis for about $22 million in returning contracts. While this wouldn’t get them under the second apron, it would at least reduce their tax burden.
Sam Hauser could be another trade candidate.
The sharpshooter is entering the first year of his four-year, $44 million extension. Trading him wouldn’t solve the second apron problem, but it would save the team a whopping $80 million in luxury tax penalties next season.
As for trade assets, Boston has five of their own first-round picks over the next seven years. Despite this seemingly rich draft capital, they’re surprisingly limited in what they can offer.
Their 2032 first-round pick is frozen, and they owe either Portland or Washington a first-rounder in 2029.
This means they can only trade one first-round pick (either 2026 or 2027). They can offer pick swaps in 2026, 2027, 2030, and 2031, plus they have five second-round picks available.
For a team coming off a championship, these financial constraints present a real challenge to keeping the roster intact.
